Building Mental Toughness

What is mental toughness?  It's a hard thing to define but you always know when someone has it.  I like to think of it as the ability to suffer through adverse situations to achieve a goal. 

If you are an endurance athlete, chances are at some point during a race, things are going to hurt and you're going to question your reasons for signing up in the first place.  You're going to feel like crap or maybe your perfectly thought out race plan is falling to pieces.  Whatever the case may be, I can guarantee there will come a time when you will have to rely on more than just your body to get you across that finish line.  That is when the race becomes a mental battle.  

How you react to adverse conditions like weather or a having a mechanical issue, will also ultimately affect your race experience.   Luckily, these are things that you can (hopefully) prepare for.  I say hopefully because you can't always control the weather.   That being said, this is Ontario, chances are you're going to get rain and possibly even snow on some of your early season outdoor rides.  When I see rain in the forecast for an outdoor ride, I often think about doing it inside on the trainer.  But doing that would be the easy thing to do.  Getting out in the crappiest of weather and getting your workout done is a good thing.  Yes, it sucks when you're doing it.  I can remember many a bike ride that was done in pouring rain and wind and almost always ended in tears.  But I went out and got it done.  You can't control the weather so what happens if you get a torrential downpour on race day and you've never ridden or run in the rain?  How do you deal with that mentally?   Do you resign yourself to having a less than stellar day?  Your reaction to all of this is a choice.  You can choose to embrace it or you can choose to worry about it. 

If you want to work at building mental toughness, you need to actively expose yourself to being uncomfortable.  Get out when it's raining (but be SAFE).   Go out when the winds are howling (again, be SAFE).   Workouts like these are called "character building" for a reason!   Mental toughness (and confidence) is built by pushing beyond your perceived limits and realizing that you are capable of doing more.  Just like nailing a hard workout, gritting it out in less than favourable conditions gives you a certain sense of accomplishment.  So when faced with said conditions on race day, you are ready.  You've been there.  

How do you harness this toughness when things start to go sideways?  For me, I find I have to just focus on the task at hand, what I'm doing in that exact moment.  I don't think too far ahead because then my mind starts to wander and I lose focus.  If you're in the water, think about your stroke and your breathing, focus on that until you get to the next buoy.  On land, think about your cadence and your breathing, focus on what you can control.  If you're like me, then you're probably carrying on a conversation in your head.  This is the time to rely on your positive self talk.  Don't think about what could go wrong, or what you should have done (shoulda coulda woulda!).  If you have a phrase or mantra, keep repeating it.  The body achieves what the mind believes so keep things POSITIVE.  

Take the opportunity to practice getting uncomfortable in your training and learning how to deal with those feelings.  That's part of what training is all about.  Race day will be the sum of all of your training experiences.  Make sure you're ready for anything!  

What are your go to mental strategies?

~ Coach PK

Tri Talk Tuesday - Race Day Routine

Oh HEY!  It's Tuesday and you know what that means???  It's time for Tri Talk Tuesday!  Today is the day us Tri Geeks get together and chat about all things triathlon related.  Today my lovely co-hosts, Courtney & Cynthia and I are chatting about our race day routines and various tips and tricks that we may use.  I've chosen to outline my race morning routine. 

If you look at the routine of any successful athlete,  I think one of the first things you'd notice is the consistency.   Once they find something that works for them, they stick to it.  That goes from how they train, to what they eat, to how they prepare for race day.   The key to a successful race day is to stick to your plan and what works for YOU.

My race day routine doesn't vary too much, regardless of the distance I'm tackling.  The only thing that really changes is what I pack in my transition bag.   If it's a short course race vs. a long course race, my running shoes will be different and I will pack socks if it's long course.  Since I'm getting old and forgetful,  I've started packing my bag the night BEFORE a race and then, because I have the memory span of a goldfish, I check it again in the morning.

Night Before:

Make up my race day hydration and put it in the fridge. Prep my breakfast.  Check my bike tires and inflate if necessary.  Pack up my handy Zoot transition bag with running shoes, socks (if using) cycling shoes, helmet, sunglasses, wetsuit, goggles and a change of clothes.  I always leave certain items in my transition bag because I know I'll always need / use them and that way I won't forget to pack them on race day.

• Body glide
• Deoderant
• Wet Wipes
• Gels / bars 
• Race belt

Pre-Race:

Breakfast:  usually overnight oats with chia, coconut flakes, almond milk + some sliced banana and maple syrup + a glass of water.   I give myself ample time for my body to wake up and clear itself out, ha ha.  We usually grab coffee en route to the race site.  Unless it's Europe then we have time for a stay home leisurely morning coffee ha ha.

Race Site:

If it's a short distance race, then I'm racking my bike when I get there.  If it's a half Ironman, then my bike is racked already and all I need to do is lay out my gear in transition.  Once I've racked my bike, I check my tires again.  I check my brakes because sometimes they rub on my race wheels.  I then lay out my transition mat.  Lastly I put my hydration in my aero bottle, put my race day nutrition in my bento box, if it fits.  If not, I put some in my bento box and lay the rest beside my cycling & running shoes so I know to grab it when I go out for each leg.  Once all of that is done, I take a look around transition to see what's around my rack.  I look at where the bike & run exits are so I know which way to run after each leg.

Once my transition area is set up, I get into my wetsuit and do a swim warm up.  The longer the warmup the better for me.  I do some easy swimming, then I pick up the pace to get my heart rate up, then I go back to easy swimming.  If I have a lot of time to kill before my wave goes off, I try to stay in the water as long as possible, especially if it's on the cool side.  Then it's not so much of shock when I start swimming.

Post Race:

This is one area that I'm trying to get better at.  When I get home, I usually have a recovery drink.  I really like Genuine Health's Active Recover.  When you mix it with vanilla almond milk, it tastes like a creamsicle.  I've gotten MUCH better at post race stretching and foam rolling.  After I got home and showered from Sunday's race, I immediately got on the foam roller for a few minutes.  Later on that day I stretched and foam rolled again.   I usually try to have an epsom salt bath if possible as well.  I find that helps make me feel a bit better.  I also tend to sleep better afterwards.

So there you have it.  That's my race day routine!  Head on over to the link up and check out all the other posts.

Join us again on September 8th for our next Tri Talk Tuesday.  We'll be talking rest and recovery!

An InLinkz Link-up

Tri Talk Tuesday: Race Logistics

It's Tuesday and that means I'm linking up with the Tri Talk Tuesday ladies once again.  When I saw the topic for this weeks post, I HAD to jump in.  This week's topic is Race Day Logistics.  Most of the races that I've done have been local to me but I've done a few destination races as well (like this year's 70.3) and adding long distance travel to the mix can make things interesting to say the least.

Here are my 6 tips for destination race logistics:

1) So you've signed up for a destination race, now what?  Well, if you're like me, you've done a bit of research into the course before hitting the ENTER button.  If not, well then that should be your first order of business.  How you train for said race will be partly be determined by the type of course you're racing on.  Does the bike portion go through mountains?  If so, you'll need to get some good climbing & descending work in.  Swimming in the ocean?  You might want to get used to swimming without a wetsuit.  You see where I'm going with this, right?  Part of having a successful race is being prepared for the course you're racing on.  Nothing prepares you as much as being able to train on the course but that's not always feasible so if you're jetting off to some far flung destination to race, give yourself time in the days leading up to the race to either drive or ride some or all of the course (or at the very least the parts that scare you the most, ha ha).  I did that in Luxembourg and it helped immensely.

Bike Course Scout!

 2)  If you're traveling to a different time zone, give yourself a few days to adjust and get back on to a normal schedule.  A friend once told me that you need 1 day for every hour of time difference.  I didn't find that to be the case the first time I went to Europe but, this time around, I'd say that it definitely took me at least 3 days before I felt like I was on a regular sleep schedule.  Giving yourself those few extra days will also give you time to get your bearings.  Which brings me to my next point.

3)  Familiarize yourself with the race venue and it's surroundings.  If you're staying nearby, great.  If you're staying a bit further away and have to drive in, figure out how long the drive is.  Factor in traffic if necessary.  You may also have to figure out parking as you likely won't be able to park close to the race venue.  In Luxembourg they recommended parking in certain lots and offered a shuttle service for athletes to and from the race venue.

4)  Find out where the local bike shops are.  If you're flying to a race, you're going to have to dismantle your bike and pack it in a bike box.  Your local bike shop should be able to do that for you but when you arrive, you may need help with assembly.  You will definitely need to get CO2 cartridges because you can't fly with them so plan accordingly.  If you have bike tools, bring them.  My bike shop took my Vectors off when they packed my bike and they can only be put back on with a pedal wrench which we didn't bring.  So we had to find a bike shop and buy one.  While we were there we picked up some CO2 cartridges.

Flying to a race?  Pack your patience.  Hauling all this stuff is stressful.

 5)  When you're packing, put everything you need for the race in your carry on.  I took my Apera bag as my carry on and I was able to fit everything I needed for my race in it.  I had my aero helmet in the main compartment, along with my sunglasses, Real Deal racing kit, Garmin, heart rate strap & socks.  I put my cycling shoes in one of the outer compartments and my running shoes and goggles in the other.  That way if my luggage got lost, I at least had almost everything I needed for race day.  I put my wetsuit and race day nutrition into my bike box so all those items were together.   I'd like to think that the chances of a bike box being lost or left behind are less than that of a suitcase being lost or left behind.  Here's hoping I haven't jinxed myself for the next trip, ha ha.

 6) If it's a big race, you'll get an Athlete's Guide.  Read it.  There will also be a pre-race briefing.  Go to it.  It will give you the opportunity to ask questions and get clear answers.  Not every race is going to be the same.  For example, in Luxembourg the draft zone was 10 meters vs. 7 meters like it is in the US.  I never would have known that if I didn't go to the pre-race meeting because I'm 99.9% sure it wasn't mentioned in the Guide book.

 

Do you have any tips you'd add to the list?  Head on over to The Tri Girl Chronicles and You Signed Up for What to check out their tips and join in the link up!  The Cupcake Triathlete is on her way back from Lake Placid so she'll be joining back up next week. 

7 Steps to Get Through Race Week

Well, it's finally here...the final countdown to #STWM 2013 a.k.a #sub130orbust is on.  That also means its taper week for me.  So, I'm going to do my best to heed my own advice this week and not lose my mind.   Everyone deals with race week a little differently.  Since I am the Queen of list making it would only make sense that I've come up with a little to do list for this week.  These are things that I try to do in the days leading up to the race. 

Get the Knots Out

I did my last long run yesterday and promptly went and suffered through treated myself to a 90 minute massage.   I always find it important to get a massage before and after my big races.  When going for a massage before your race, figure out if you want it to be a deep tissue massage (i.e get the knots out) or something a little lighter just to flush your legs out.  Given the beat down I've put on my legs over the last 4 weeks, I opted for the get the knots out version.  The deeper the massage, the longer the recovery time.  At least that's what I've learned over the years.  If you're going to go deep, give yourself a week to recover before race day.   If not, you could probably get away with doing it 3-4 days pre-race.   It all depends on how well you recover.  This is what has worked for me in the past so this is what I've stuck with.

Race Strategy & Visualization

Visualization is something I like to work on pretty much every day leading up to the race.  I picture myself in my race day outfit, getting into my corral at the start line.  I let the butterflies come and I breathe through them.  I practice calming myself down.  If it's a race I've done before, I visualize myself running along the course.  Remembering the landmarks.  Luckily I ran the re-vamped Scotia course last year so I know what to expect come race day.  For my goal races, I usually have some kind of game plan going in.  Sometimes I stick to it and sometimes I don't.  Given my goal this time around, I am definitely going to be sticking with my race plan.  I'm going to start with the 1:30 pace bunny and see how that feels.   If I feel good at the 13km mark, I will start to pick it up and try to hold 4:10's until the 18km mark.  If I'm still feeling alright at this point, I'm going to drop the hammer and go all out for the last 3km.  Obviously if I'm not feeling great, I'll stick with the 1:30 pace bunny and hold on for dear life.

Keep it Clean

I generally eat fairly clean about 80% of the time but during race week I make a concerted effort to stay away from the junk.  Especially any sort of refined foods and sweets.  I look at it this way:  Would you fill a Formula One car with low grade fuel and expect it to perform its best?  Of course not.  It takes premium quality fuel for it to perform its best.  Your body is like a race car.  Why on earth would you fill it with anything less than premium fuel?  Not only will your body perform better, you'll feel better and recover better as well.  It may also help boost your immune system, which is a huge bonus leading up to a race.  The last thing you want is to get sick just days out from your goal race.  After all that training, how much would that suck? 

Plan your race day outfit

I am the worst for this.  I will weather watch for days leading up to the race and hem an haw about what I'm going to wear and change my mind a million times (totally a woman's prerogative!).  Fall races in Ontario generally mean cooler temps and sometimes rain.   Last year, it was muggy and rainy.  I wore a t-shirt with my Running Free singlet over it, plus arm warmers and I was totally overdressed.  Of course I've checked the forecast already and right now the forecast is a high of 11, low of 5 with showers.  Awesome.  I think that this year I'm going to forgo the t-shirt and just wear my singlet and arm warmers.  I am hoping to be working hard enough that I won't be cold for too long. 


Make Your Race Day Playlist

Given the choice, I always chose to race with music.  I don't find it takes away from my racing experience or my concentration.  It's a soundtrack to my race experience.  Background noise that somehow manages to enhance my race experience.  I always enjoy making playlists, although I think this time around it's going to be tough.  I currently have about 3.5 hours of music on my shuffle that I'm going to have to whittle down to 1.5 hours.  Guess I have my work cut out for me.  Stay tuned this week to see what I've decided on.

Steer Clear of the Beer

Those of you that follow me on Instagram know that I love a good beer.   I don't over indulge, I usually just have one, maybe two.  I find that sometimes, if I have two, it can affect my sleep.  I end up tossing and turning and not sleeping well and we all know how important a good nights sleep is, especially two days before a race.   Some people have no problem drinking beer the day before a race.  I am not one of those people so I choose to avoid it for at least 3 days before the race.  Afterwards is an entirely different story.  I have an amazing bottle of Pumpkin Ale waiting in the fridge for me for after the race next week.

No New Foods!

I am a creature of habit in terms of my diet and my body knows that.  I try to feed it things that its used to eating in the days leading up to the race.  The last thing you want is any sort of stomach upset or digestive issues because you've eaten something you're not used to eating.  Race morning jitters are more than enough to keep me in the bathroom, let alone eating something I'm not used to the day before the race. 

Focusing on these things in my "down time" this week, should help me deal with the tapermadness crazies that will inevitably start to creep in sometime in the next few days.  Lucky for G he is away for work this week so he won't be around to have to deal with it.  I think he planned it that way.   Smart fella.  Maybe I should just save it all up for Friday night when he gets home and unleash it then, ha ha. 

Truth be told,  as of this moment, I'm feeling pretty excited about next Sundays race.   Let's see how I'm doing come Friday.


Do you have anything you'd add to this list?